The invention relates to a device for restraining and protecting a pet animal while in vehicular transit for the safety of the animal and the other occupants of the vehicle.
Infant and child restraint seats for automotive use are well known. Typically, these devices include straps, bracket, and other means for securing the seat to the automobile seat, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,345,791 and 1,584,161. The infant seat includes additional straps fastened to the infant or child into the infant seat. These devices are not suitable for fastening the body of a pet animal. The use of straps is generally not effective for fastening the body of an animal to a vehicle seat in a simple and uncluttered manner, although this has been previously proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,512,286, 4,324,204, and 4,010,880. As can be seen by these examples, strapping involves complicated assemblies for securing and restraining a pet. In a vehicular environment, this results in unsightly arrangements and the pet is still allowed sufficient movement to interfere with the driver or other occupants of the vehicle. The pet may still be hurled a distance in the vehicle to injure the pet or occupants. Strapping typically does not restrain the legs of the pet so that it is still free to roam in the vehicle and distract the driver. U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,640 discloses a protective restraint bag for animals, but no means is provided for securing the bag within an automobile.
In vehicular travel, a pet needs to have a suitable restraint to prevent the driver from having an accident due to being distracted by the pet. A large number of pets are treated by veterinarians which have been injured from being hurled through an automobile like a missile due to sudden emergency stops, or in some cases, pets that have leaped out of a window of a traveling automobile. The provision of an effective pet restraint for vehicular use is a problem to which considerable attention need be given.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a pet restraint for vehicular and automotive use which will effectively restrain a pet and provide safety to the pet and the occupants.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vehicular pet restraint which will effectively restrain the pet so that no movement of the pet in the vehicle is permitted which would distract the driver or other occupants.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pet restraint which can effectively restrain a pet for safe transportation in an automobile, bicycle, motorcycle, or walking.